The Last Duke of Wales
by Rose Starre
Summary: The self-proclaimed Lord Shirmingham captures Holly and plans to expose her to the world. Can Artemis and his friends save her before it's too late? Wow, that summary sounds clichéd and cheesy.
1. Confusion

Sadly, I don't own Artemis Fowl or any of the others. All I own is Lord Shirmingham and his goons.

Artemis was trying hard to focus on the screen of his computer. However, his mind kept wandering. A quite familiar face clouded his concentration.

After ten minutes of trying (and failing) to concentrate, Artemis slammed his hands down on the keyboard, which was quite out of character. Random letters sprawled across the screen. Some letters, however, managed to form Gnommish words.

Artemis squinted at the screen. There were only four Gnommish words. He flinched upon counting them. A slight shadow of Atlantis Complex still remained in the criminal mastermind's brain.

The genius sighed and erased the letters. A knock at the window pulled Artemis back into reality. A slightly nervous Captain Short was hovering at the window.

Artemis opened the window and grabbed Holly's hand, pulling her inside. "What are you thinking!" Artemis snapped. "Why aren't you shielding?"

"Well," Holly muttered. "I ran out of magic and it's the middle of the day and I can't get more."

Artemis slapped his forehead and said, "There's a full moon tonight and there are several magic hotspots on Ireland. You know where they are."

Holly sighed, "I can't return to Haven." Upon seeing Artemis's shocked expression, she quickly added, "I'm supposed to be checking an atmospheric satellite, I haven't been banned or anything!"

Artemis recovered from his shock quickly and cried, "You can stay here!" He said it a little too enthusiastically because Holly was giving him a strange look. "Ahem. I mean, you can stay here," he said calmly, correcting himself.

"Okay," Holly said slowly. _What on Earth was that about? _She thought.

Suddenly, Mrs. Fowl, carrying a tray of cookies, strode into the room. "Oh," she said, mildly surprised. "Who is this? I didn't know you had company, Arty."

"T-this is H-Holly, Mother." Artemis stuttered.

"How did she get in the house without me seeing?" Mrs. Fowl asked skeptically.

"She got in through the window," Artemis said casually. (Sure, like a guy's girlfriend climbs in through his window; like that's NORMAL!)

Mrs. Fowl raised an eyebrow. Holly stepped in to save Artemis. "I like to climb," she giggled. Mrs. Fowl smiled and offered each of them a cookie. Artemis gently declined but Holly politely took one.

"Your mother's really nice," Holly commented after finishing the treat.

Artemis said nothing, instead staring out the window. Holly punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, mudboy. Talk to me," she said.

Artemis looked into her eyes and found it near impossible to speak. There was something about her eyes that captivated him, drew him in and didn't let him go. Maybe it was the fact that one of those eyes was his.

Holly waved her right hand in front of Artemis's face. "Hello?" she asked, chuckling.

Artemis snapped out of his trance. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, I… It's just… I don't…" he mumbled. He grunted in frustration before continuing, "Let's go do something else."

Soon, Artemis was in the gardens of Fowl Manor, with Holly close at his side. A rabbit bounded onto the path and started nibbling on a tuft of grass. Artemis sighed, "I'll get Butler; he'll take care of that."

Holly laid a hand on his arm. "Not on my watch, he won't," she said defiantly. "That rabbit hasn't hurt anyone." Then, she turned to the bunny. She knelt down and made small, clicking noises.

The rabbit turned to Holly, fully alert. Then, he turned tail and fled. Holly stood and smiled at the escaping rabbit. "There," she said, "Now he won't have to die."

Artemis stared at the elfin captain in awe. He had had no idea that the gift of tongues went as far as animal communication. "Y-you can talk to animals?" he asked, shocked.

Holly looked at Artemis and grinned. "Of course I can," she said.

"Can you speak Whale?" Artemis asked excitedly. Holly nodded and produced a combination of moans, clicks, and squeals.

"That means 'Hello' in Whale," Holly explained.

"What about Panther? Can you do Panther?" Artemis asked, unable to contain his excitement.

Holly let out a low growl, punctuated by a high-pitched scream characterized by panthers.

"Amazing!" Artemis cried.

Butler called from the house, declaring that dinner was ready. Artemis motioned to Holly and led her into the house.

After dinner, Artemis and Holly went upstairs. _Time to show Holly something _I _can do, _Artemis thought. He started a conversation and turned it to music.

"So, Holly, do you like music?" Artemis asked casually.

"Do I?" Holly cried. "I love music!"

Artemis grinned and stepped over to a covered object. He tugged the tarp away with a flourish, revealing a gorgeous grand piano.

Holly was entranced by the sheer sight of the beautiful instrument. She went over to it and gently stroked one ivory key. She pushed a little too hard, making the piano reverberate with sound.

Holly jumped slightly, but looked at the piano with wonder. She tapped a few more keys experimentally before Artemis gently pushed her aside.

"Watch me, now," Artemis said. He splayed his hands across the keys. Holly's eyes widened with awe at the beginning of the song, which was _Fur Elise _by Beethoven.

Night came quickly, for _time flies when you're having fun_. Artemis was dozing off in a chair, while Holly crouched on the windowsill, waiting for the full moon to show itself.

The moon rose, showing its full face to all of Europe. Holly got the wonderful feeling of being completely exposed to the moon's rays. She leaped out the window and activated the wings in her suit.

Holly's helmet buzzed to life, picking up hundreds of frequencies. Holly narrowed in on the LEP radio station. Trouble was trying to contact her, and he sounded furious.

"Holly, I don't know what you're doing up there, but you need to check that satellite! I haven't gotten that report yet! How long does it take to check something like that?" Trouble shouted

"Calm down, Commander," Holly said. "I ran out of magic at about 14:00. The satellite is over Dublin and I didn't want to take any chances."

Holly could almost see Trouble fuming. "Alright," Trouble said calmly, "Make it snappy, though."

A map displaying magic hotspots on Ireland appeared on Holly's visor at her command. The one closest to Holly's location was showing up red on the map, meaning many fairies were there. The only empty one was on the far side of the island, but Holly headed there, anyway.

Holly landed and immediately knew that the place was full to bursting with magic. The tips of her pointed ears quivered with anticipation.

Fortunately, there was an acorn right in front of Holly. Unfortunately, the acorn was a trap. The captain picked the acorn off of the ground. A string attached to the seed alerted a man concealed in a bush of the motion.

The man waited, wanting to see the Ritual in action. Holly, unaware of the trap, knelt down near one of the oak tree's roots. "I return you to the earth," she murmured, driving the seed into the ground, "And claim the gift that is my right."

The magic entered Holly quickly, sending a jolt throughout her body. She was on her feet in a nanosecond, tottering about because of the magic shock.

She stopped on a net hidden under twigs and leaves. The man in the bush motioned to a man in a tree. The man in the tree yanked up on the net, capturing Holly.

Holly instinctively pulled out her Neutrino. She moved the barrel around, searching for potential targets. A thin man, aged about 23 years, stepped out from behind a tree.

The newcomer, now flanked by two largely muscular men, approached Holly, completely unafraid. The elfin captain aimed her weapon at him, her eyes widened in fear.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the stranger said in an obvious British accent, "I am the last Duke of Wales, Lord Shirmingham."

"Well, _Lord Shirmingham,_" Holly said in a mocking tone, "I don't know how you found out about me, but you are in for a whole lot of pain, mudman."

Lord Shirmingham chuckled, a light, humorless sound. "Silly elf," he said, "You can't hurt me. This net is made to repel magic and shots from that insignificant little gun of yours."

Holly's lips curled back in a snarl that she hoped would intimidate the human. Unfortunately, Lord Shirmingham was unimpressed. "Sedate her," he ordered.

One of the lord's goons pricked Holly's arm with the needle of a syringe. Holly felt the sedative enter her bloodstream. She struggled to fight it, but it quickly overpowered her.

"Nighty night," Lord Shirmingham whispered in Holly's ear as her eyes closed.

_To be continued…_

_Oh boy, a cliffhanger. Whatever are you going to do? Wait for the next chapter, I guess. Trust me; I'm working on it as fast as I can. It'll be out in a little while, I promise. Just as soon as I figure out the chapter thing; which is almost done, thanks to everyone who helped._


	2. Rescue Team

Artemis woke up the next morning with a start. He looked around the room and realized there was no sign that Holly had ever returned. Everything was just as he'd left it. Holly would normally move something, just to tell him she had made it back okay.

A horrible feeling bubbled up inside of Artemis. He knew something was dreadfully wrong. He got off of the chair and walked downstairs.

Butler was making breakfast, as he usually did. This morning, it was omelets. Butler took one look at his charge and immediately knew something was wrong. He turned from the stove and gave Artemis 99% of his attention. (If you're curious, the 1% of Butler's attention was still on the food.)

"Old friend," Artemis said, "I'm afraid something may have happened to Holly."

"Why? What did she do?" Butler asked, turning back to the stove to flip an omelet.

"It's what she didn't do," Artemis corrected. "She normally moves something in my room to tell me she was alright. She didn't do that last night. I'm worried."

Butler looked out the window, trying to figure out some kind of comfort for Artemis. Instead, he found a note trapped under the window pane. He stepped over and freed the paper.

The letters on the paper were slightly sloppy, but still readable. Butler recognized the handwriting as Holly's. There was a portion of Gnommish at the bottom, but, Butler couldn't read that.

The bodyguard read the paper aloud to Artemis:

Dear Artemis:

I am fine; there is no need to worry about me. I forgot to tell you I made it back okay. I probably won't see you for a while, but you must not worry.

From: Holly

Butler handed the note to Artemis so he could see the Gnommish. "Butler," Artemis said cautiously after a minute, "I don't understand this."

"Read it to me," Butler said.

"It says, 'A crazy fellow found a girl, took her home, wouldn't leave her for the world'," Artemis read.

Butler, who was a master in code, gasped in horror when he figured out the note. "She's been taken as a captive and needs to be rescued right away!" he cried.

"It goes on to say: 'Not even sure where she was, the girl found a British map. Within a human world she was certain, but back to her people she must go. They were in danger; she knew, but how to escape...'" Artemis said, surprisingly calm. (Okay, I admit, that was entirely random.)

"That means we should move even faster," Butler said, pointing out the obvious.

"Of course," Artemis said, putting on his coat.

* * *

Holly woke up groggily. She remembered being forced to write a note to Artemis, stating that he need not look for her. She also remembered writing in Gnommish at the bottom, but couldn't quite recall what she had written.

The rest of the previous night was shrouded in mental fog. Holly couldn't quite put a finger on why she was in a gigantic birdcage, either.

The man, Lord Shirmingham, stepped into the room, proudly leading a group of tourists. "And here," he said, gesturing at Holly's cage, "is a genuine specimen of fairy."

Holly instinctively reached for her Neutrino, only to find empty space. But, surprisingly, none of the tourists even looked at their cameras. "She's just a girl in an oversized birdcage," one tourist pointed out.

"My thoughts exactly,_" _Holly muttered grumpily.

"Ahem, she is a fairy," Shirmingham chuckled. "Look."

The tourists, seeming uninterested, looked about the room. "Fine!" Shirmingham snapped, "Be that way! Now, get out of my house!" The frightened sightseers scattered and left the house.

"Now then, my pretty," Shirmingham chuckled, getting as close to Holly's cage as humanly possible, "You may have tricked the tourists, but will you fool professional scientists?"

Holly rolled her eyes and kicked at the wall of the cage. The force set the whole thing swinging, effectively knocking Shirmingham on his backside.

"You horrible buffoon!" Shirmingham screamed, "This was my new suit!" Holly smiled triumphantly.

* * *

Artemis sighed. It was taking an irritatingly long time for Butler to finish the pre-flight checks. "Butler," he called, "Must I remind you that we're on a timetable here?"

When no answer came, Artemis became a little bit anxious. "Butler?" he called again, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

Artemis crept out of the passenger bay (or whatever it's called) and entered the cockpit, expecting Butler to be in the pilot's chair.

The bodyguard was not, however, in the pilot's chair. He was sprawled on the floor. Artemis looked about, suddenly aware that there was a powerful enemy nearby.

Suddenly, something with quite the momentum slammed into Artemis. "Where is she?" Trouble shouted angrily, unshielding.

_Another cliffhanger… *sigh* I don't like those, but I can't stop writing them. Sorry… Until I put up the latest chapter, bye!_


End file.
